Sanitary napkin machine



June 7, 1938. J. BLOSSER El AL I S ANITARY NAPKIN MACHINE Original Fiied May 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Z6 25 56 John E. Blosser and Full/ Burke. 56 7 BY A TTORNEYS Patented June 7, i938 aliases sanrranr mean: er

John E. Blossom, Glens Falls, and Paul Burke, South Glens Falls, N. if assignors to Veldown Company, Inc... New York, N. Y... a coration of New York Application May 26, 1933, Qeriai No. $572,950

Renewed rch 2, i935 9 @laims.

This invention relates to apparatus for making sanitary napkins and more particularly for making napkins of the type in which the absorbent body portion is formed of a multiplicity of sheets of crepe tissue paper.

In the manufacture of crepe tissue paper, it is not feasible to produce the corrugations longitudinally of the Web. The corrugations always run transversely of the web and hence it is the 10 usual practice to deliver to the napkin making apparatus reels of the pad material in which the corrugations extend transversely of the 'webs in order that a web of sufiicient length may be employed to supply the machine for a substantial p iod.

Their-eel. web is ordinarily as wide as or'a little wider than the length of one of the pads to be made from. it. Thus the lengths of the pads are formed from the widths of the web and the widths of the pads are cut from the lengths of the web. This enables a large number of pads to be cut from a web of given length and also causes the corrugations to be disposed longitudinally of the pads, which is to be desired.

It has been the practice heretofore to feed the pad web to a severing mechanism for cutting on the individual pads and then to feed the they may have the side margins of the gauzefolded about them. Such an arrangement, however,-involves an awkward disposition of mechanism which is wasteful of factory space. The

35 mechanism for effecting these successive operations necessarily is made generally in the form of an L because of the provision of the two feeders acting atright. angles to one another.

It is an object of the present invention to. con- 40 trive a. novel mechanism for dealing with the pad and gauze material whereby this "disadvantage may be overcome. To this end it is a feature of the invention that provision is made of mechanism whereby the filler web is advanced and severed, the pads after severance'are turned through substantially 90 and are then advanced lengthwise in the same direction as before and delivered at evenly spaced intervals onto a gauze web.

The pads are advanced with the gauze web, still 50 in the same direction. During the advance of,

the'pads with the gauze. web, the gauze is .tolded about the pads and 'severedbetween successive pads.

v A further feature of the invention has to do 155 with the means for turning the cut pads and de- (Qi. lid- 29) liverlngthem onto the gauze. Such means desirably comprise a continuously running turntable and suitable pad guiding and deflecting means for causing the turntable to give over control of each pad to thetraveling gauze after the pad has been turned through substantially ninety degrees.

Otherobjects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

troductory end of the pad wrapping mechanism,

and pad transferring and turning means located between the pad severing and pad wrapping mechanisms; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating principally the gauze feeding, folding and severing mechanisms. I 30 The machine for feeding the pad web I and for severing individual pads 2 from it comprises a frame 3 which supports end rollers l and 5 of an intermittently operated supporting and feeding belt 6. The end roller 5 may be intermittently operated for advancing the pad web I. The web ls progressively unwound froma reel 1, which reel rests upon the conveyor belt 6. The pad web is drawn forward intermittently by the conveyor belt 6 and an auxiliary conveyor belt '8 which runs upon end rollers 9 and Ill. The pad web is delivered over a hollow dieqinember H and I? is severed by a reciprocating punch I2 which is timed to operate while the pad web is idle and at a time when an end portion of the pad web is positioned over the opening in the die memberf flj. Each pad as it is severed falls between vertical side guides l3 and I4 onto a table'l-S'; The side guides are carried by the die base. The table It is carried by a vertical shaft-I6 and is con o tinuously rotated by said shaft. Arcuate exten- I sions l1 and II, formed respectively on thegiude members I! and I4, extend over tlie table and over a web of gauze I 9' mwhich thepeds are to be folded. Each pad ls-turuedf'fby'fthet table li- In the drawings forming part of this specificam through aproximately 90 and is delivered through the guide extensions I! and I8 onto the gauze. The gauze travels at a higher linear speed than the periphery of the table, and draws the pads away from the table as they come into engagement with it. The guide extensions l1 and I8 are substantially parallel at the delivery ends thereof and serve to straighten out the pads delivered onto the gauze.

A reel is journalled in a frame member 2| and supplies a web of gauze ill to the machine. Thegauze is drawn from the reel 20 by a feeding couple comprising a driven roller 22 and a cooperating roller 23. The gauze passes thence around a roller 24 and onto a conveyor belt 25 which is substantially narrower than the gauze table 26.

and which may run in a trough of a supporting The table 26 is substantially wider than the conveyor belt 25 and is wide enough to support the full width of the gauze web. The pads 2 are delivered successively onto the longitudinal central zone of the gauze web l9, that is, upon that portion of the gauze web which travels on belt 25. The belt 25 runs upon end rollers 2'! and 28 and is driven by the former. Idler rollers 29 and 29a also coact with the. idle stretch of the belt for supportingfand guiding it.

' The gauze and the pad'supported thereon travel with the belt 25 past folding arms 3| whi'ch'aefl to fold in the side margins of the gauze over the successive pads in the manner illustrated in Figto the drivi ure 6. The folded gauze with the enclosed, pads, continues thence along the conveyor *beltji 25 .be-

neath an auxiliary feed belt 32.

This feed belt 32 is a driven belt and coacts with the belt 25 to pull the gauze and the supported pads through the folding mechanism. The belt 32 runs upon end rollers 33 and 34. The

former roller is journalled in frame members 35 and the latter roller is journalled in the-free ends I of arms 36, which arms are pivotally supported coaxially with the roller 33. The roller 34 is, therefore,,free to rise andfall as it encounters H thevsuccessive pads and the gaps between the pads.

'A pulley 31, fast on the shaft 38 of roller 34, is driven by a belt 39 so as to cause the belt 32 to travelin unison with the belt 25. Since the roller 34 is intended'to rise and fall and to exert no objeptlonablepressure upon thepads, ,the belt'39 ismadeslack and a'yieldable'sl'ack take-up device.

is provided forpreventingslipping or the belt 39 referencelto thepulley 31 .and with reference the g ism. There "is" a liability, however, as the gauze approaches the folding frame members 54.

the-imam conveyor, 25., flaaiisa aialaptavi he gauze ,and' the pads-past ings in the table 26 to grip the margins of the gauze and keep them spread out in a flat condition. 'The rollers are mounted on a shaft 52 which is supported by ball bearings 53 in machine The rollers 5! are carried by a shaft 55 which is supported by ball bearings 56 in the frame members 54. With the arrangement described the gauze is positively drawn forward through the machine from a point near the delivery end thereof, and the margins of the gauze are kept in order by the idler rollers 50 and 5| acting on the gauze outside the lateral bounds of the conveyor belt 25.

We have described what we believe to be the best embodiments of our invention- We do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiment shown, but what we desire to cover by Letters Patentis set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

.1".' In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for propelling a web of absorbent material, means for punching a pad from'the leading end of the-web at a single operation comprising an u per plunger member and a lower hollow die member through which the severed pad passes, and a'turntable beneath the hollow die member for catching each pad. as it is severed and turning itthrough substantially a right angle. '1 2. In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for propelling a web of gauze and a web of filling material in substantially the same direction, means for punching a .pad widthwise from the length of the filling material of the web at a single operation, comprising an upper plunger member and a lower hollow die member through which the punched pad passes, and a turntable beneath the hollow die member for catching each pad as it is severed; turning it through substantially a right angle and delivering it lengthwise onto the gauze web.

3. In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for propelling a web of gauze and a web of filling material in substantially the same direction, means for punching a pad widthwise from the length of the filling material of the web at a single operation, comprising an upperplunger member and a lower hollow die gmemb'er through which the punched pa'd passes, parallel vertical guides extending downward from the hol-fl low die member, aturn'table adjacent [the lower extremities of the guides, and curved horizontal extensions of the guides extending just above the.

turntable and tangentially away therefrom for' causing" the pads, tofbe turned and 'deliv ered lo n gitudinally onto the" gauze;

'4. In' a sanitary;napkin inaichirieljiri colrlblnation, means fonfeeding aweb of gauze, a" con tinuously runningijturntable for delivering pads to the'g auz, paidQguidingmeans c ooperativewith the turntable for {:Qhtrolling the delivery of pads about the spaced pads. 5, I a sanitary, nap

tothe gauze, and means,for folding the gauze in making machine, in;

operating ,the rewith, ,means for severing, fillerv r pads, and-causingthemtobe,deposited ont turntable, and'means for receiving the pads fmm.-. 11e t tri b eand-s p n themwin gau e.

. ,.6,, In a sanitary napkin machine in eombina-L. {1,

tion, a conveyor for supporting and feeding a web of gauze, a turntablev for delivering pads v a web of filling material in substantially the.

at spaced intervals onto the gauze, means for folding the gauze about the pads as the gauze and pads travel together upon the conveyor, means cooperating with-the conveyor to pull the gauze past the folding means, and idler rollers engaging the margins of the gauze in advance of the folding means to maintain the gauze unwrinkled and to hold the gauze against sidewise movement.

7. In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for propelling a web of gauze and same direction, means for punching a pad widthwise from the length of the filling material, comprising an upper plunger member and a lower hollow die member through which the punched pad passes, and means for catching each pad as it passes downward from the hollow die member, turning it through substantially a right angle and delivering it lengthwise onto the gauze web.

8. In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for supporting and conveying a web of gauze, a movable pad supporting and turning device for changing the direction of the length sure of the belt against of a pad through substantially a right angle to deliver the pad longitudinally onto the gauze,

means for folding marginal portions of the gauze about the pads, and means cooperative with the conveying means to pull the web past the folding means.

9. In a sanitary napkin machine, in combination, means for supporting and conveying a web of gauze, a pad turning device for deliverlng pads longitudinally onto the gauze, means for folding marginal portions of the gauze about the pads, and means cooperative with the conveying means to pull the web past the folding means, comprising a pivoted arm, a roller coaxial with the pivot of said arm, a second roller joumalled in the arm at a substantial distance away from the pivot thereof and free to ride on the gauze and the pads, a belt running on said rollers, means for driving said rollers and belt, and for automatically maintaining the presthe gauze substantially uniform.

JOHN E. BLDBSER. PAUL 

